1904 The timeless anthem "Give My Regards to Broadway" is first sung on the Broadway stage at the opening of s Little Johnny Jones at the Liberty Theatre. The story of an American jockey in England runs just 52 performances, but the song lives on.
1910 Opening night for s operetta Naughty Marietta, which runs 136 performances at the New York Theatre, and quickly becomes a theatre staple, enjoying countless tours and three Broadway revivals in the decades to come.
1919 Birthday of , whose La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club serves as one of the cornerstones of the Off-Off-Broadway movement.
1921 Comedian earns a nickname with the musical comedy , written by and starring himself, which begins a 275-performance run at the Cohan Theatre. Wynn stars in many Broadway productions and films, but is perhaps best known to modern audiences as the giggling Uncle Albert who hosts the tea party on the ceiling in Disneys film Mary Poppins.
1922 creates the role of Sadie Thompson, a prostitute at odds with a jungle missionary, in , based on a short story. It runs 256 performances at Maxine Elliott's Theatre. immortalizes the role on film in 1932.
1934 Opening night of , one of the great weepers in Broadway history, and endlessly imitated. stars at the Plymouth Theatre as a spoiled heiress who discovers she has just months to live, and must mend her evil ways, live life to the fullest, and make peace with the world before she departs. takes the role in the 1939 film version.
1956 opens (against late playwright 鈥檚 wishes) at the Helen Hayes Theatre. The cast includes , , and , all directed by . Variety reports that this play is "a monumental, overwhelming drama, terrible in its ruthlessness, searing in its self-revelation, exalting in its pity and shattering in its impact." Brooks Atkinson declares that this production helps "acquire size and stature" for the American theatre. The show runs for 390 performances.
1958 The Quare Fellow opens Off-Broadway at the Circle in the Square Theatre. The show, whose title is slang for "condemned man," is written by and stars . It runs for 126 performances.
1968 stars in at the Vivian Beaumont Theater. The supporting cast is a who's who of future stars: , , , , , and others.
1971 's Sticks and Bones opens at . stars as a traumatized Vietnam vet who returns home to his all-American family. The Golden Theatre hosts the show's in 1972, with getting his first opportunity to design a Broadway set. It runs for 121 performances Off-Broadway, and then 246 performances on Broadway.
1996 The Santaland Diaries opens at the . The play, adapted from David Sedaris' book Barrel Fever, features two stories: "Season's Greetings to Our Friends and Family," about a housewife who finds her husband's illegitimate daughter on her doorstep, and "The Santaland Diaries," describing the experience of working as a Christmas elf at Macy's. The show runs 63 performances.
2001 's solo show, Elaine Stritch: At Liberty, debuts at the Public Theater to rave reviews. The production later in the season and wins a Tony Award for Special Theatrical Event.
2003 The song catalog of rocker Rod Stewart forms the basis of a new musical, Tonight's the Night, which opens at London's Victoria Palace Theatre.
2011 The first Broadway revival of 鈥� and 's 1971 rock musical that retells The Gospel According to St. Matthew with singing, clowning, improvisation, and numerous topical references鈥攐pens at the Circle in the Square Theatre. directs a cast featuring , , and . It runs for 264 performances.
2019 Adrienne Warren stars as Tina Turner in Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, a biomusical following the life and career of the "Proud Mary" singer. Warren was nominated for an Olivier Award for her performance in the role in London's West End, and will ultimately win Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical at the COVID-postponed 2020 Tony Awards.
More of Today's Birthdays (1847鈥�1924). (1903鈥�1991). (1909鈥�1984). Dakin Matthews (b. 1940). (b. 1950).
Adrienne Warren in the original cast of Tina: The Tina Turner Musical
